Description: The memorial is a bronze plaque, approximately two feet wide by three feet tall, commemorating the tragic loss of the Marshall University football team in a plane crash on November 14, 1970. The Marshall team were flying home following a game in Greenville against East Carolina University.
The memorial contains the bas-relief image of the Marshall University Football Team Memorial Fountain on the campus of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. The fountain at Marshall is a large abstract sculpture with elements that suggest the transformation of the torn hull of a plane's fusillage into the form of a flower. Water flows from the interior of the floral shape, evoking themes of both eternity and regeneration.

Inscription: MARSHALL MEMORIAL / THIS MEMORIAL IS DEDICATED IN MEMORY OF THE 1970 / MARSHALL UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL TEAM THAT VALIANTLY / PLAYED ITS FINAL GAME ON THIS VERY GRIDIRON. / THE TRAGEDY WILL BE REMEMBERED AND HONORED / THROUGH THIS MEMORIAL FOR A TEAM THAT GAVE ITS ALL. / THEIR FLIGHT TO ETERNITY FOREVER CHANGED THE LIVES / OF THOSE WHO DEARLY LOVED THEM. / WE HONOR THEIR DEDICATION, DISCIPLINE, AND / DEVOTION TO THE GAME OF FOOTBALL AS NO OTHER / TEAM IN HISTORY HAS GIVEN SO MUCH. / THEY SHALL LIVE ON IN THE HEARTS OF THEIR FAMILIES / AND FRIENDS FOREVER, AND THIS MEMORIAL RECORDS / THE LOSS TO THEIR UNIVERSITY AND THE ENTIRE / INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC COMMUNITY.

Dedication date: 11/11/2006

Materials & Techniques: Bronze

Sponsor: East Carolina University

Unveiling & Dedication: The memorial was dedicated and unveiled on Saturday November 11, 2006 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium at East Carolina University. The University observed a moment of silence. ECU Chancellor Dr. Steve Ballard and Marshal University President Dr. Stephen Kopp were the speakers. The dedication took place prior to a football contest between ECU and Marshall on that Saturday.

Subject notes: On November 14, 1970, the members of the Marshall University football team, "The Herd", were aboard a chartered airline flight to return home to Huntington, West Virginia following a game against the East Carolina University team. Flight 962, a Southern Airways DC-9, went down in poor visibility, a combination of rain, fog, and smoke, as the plane approached the runway at Tri-State Airport in Huntington. The plane crashed into a hillside some 5,500 feet west of the airport, killing all 75 on board.

Location: The memorial is installed on a brick wall, facing roughly east, at the entrance to Service Gate B of the Dowdy-Ficklen stadium at East Carolina University. The entrance is off West Berkeley Road. Elmhurst Elementary School is directly across the street.

Landscape: A cement plaza is adjacent to the stadium entrance with beds for evergreen and seasonal plantings, a number of larger shade trees, and several flag poles.

Add a comment

PLEASE NOTE: NCpedia will not publish personal contact information in comments, questions, or responses. If you would like a reply by email, please note thats some email servers are blocked from accepting messages from outside email servers or domains. These often include student email addresses from public school email accounts. If you prefer not to leave an email address, check back at your NCpedia comment for a reply. Please allow one business day for replies from NCpedia. Complete guidelines are available at http://ncpedia.org/comments.